Underplayed Gems

Nartanasala (1962)

Nartanasala poster
Original title
నర్తనశాల
Directed by
Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao
Genre
musical film
Country
India
Runtime
2h 55m
Rated
U
Rating
7.0 of 10 from 4 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

This is a Telugu mythological film based on the Mahabharata. The Pandava brothers live in disguise during their final year of exile in King Virata's kingdom. They face threats from the Kauravas and conflict with the king's brother-in-law Kichaka.

mythicemotionaldramaticslow-burnmusicalepicseriousornate

What happens

Nartanasala (transl. The dance pavilion) is a 1963 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and written by Samudrala Sr. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri, S. V. Ranga Rao, and Relangi while Mukkamala, Mikkilineni and Dandamudi Rajagopal play supporting roles among others. Susarla Dakshinamurthi composed the film's soundtrack and background score. M. A. Rahman and S. P. S. Veerappa served as the cinematographer and editor respectively. T. V. S. Sarma was the film's art director. The film was produced by actress C. Lakshmi Rajyam and her husband C. Sridhar Rao under the Rajyam Pictures banner. Based on the Virata Parva of the Indian epic Mahabharata, Nartanasala focused on the trials of the Pandavas in the last year of their exile. The Pandavas assumed different identities and lived incognito in Virata's Matsya Kingdom. The Kauravas wished to reveal the Pandavas' real identities so that they would repeat another exile of 13 years in a cyclic fashion. The issues faced by the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi at Matsya due to various factors, notably Virata's brother-in-law Kichaka form the rest of the story. The majority of Nartanasala's portions were filmed in the sets erected at Vauhini and Bharani studios in Madras (now Chennai). Produced with a budget of ₹4,00,000, Nartanasala was released on 11 October 1963 in 26 centers. The film was a commercial success, completing a 100-day run in 19 centers and a 200-day run in two centers. It was also dubbed into Bengali and Odia languages. Nartanasala won the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film and the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Telugu. At the third Afro-Asian Film Festival held at Jakarta in 1964, Nartanasala received two awards: Best Male Actor (Ranga Rao) and Best Art Director (T. V. S. Sarma). For the April 2013 centennial of Indian cinema, News18 included Nartanasala in its list of "The 100 greatest Indian films of all time". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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